


Letting Yourself Be Happy (is harder than it seems)

by serenitymeimei



Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-16
Updated: 2011-12-16
Packaged: 2017-10-27 10:25:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/294745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serenitymeimei/pseuds/serenitymeimei
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She hadn't anticipated this- hadn't anticipated Charlotte.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Letting Yourself Be Happy (is harder than it seems)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Geonn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geonn/gifts).



Helen was exhausted.

She longed to sink into the deep, cast iron bath in her suite back in the Old City Sanctuary, soaking all of her aches and pains away, before slipping between her high thread count sheets and getting a good night's sleep. But that would have been too easy. Instead, she was stuck in a holding facility somewhere in Southern France, being held by the local faction of the Specified Counter Insurgency Unit.

A shiver trickled down her spine and she cursed her captors for only giving her a thin mattress in an otherwise barren cell. It was mid December, therefore cold and wet outside, and it seemed as if the freezing temperatures were almost seeping in through the walls. She idly wondered if the entire facility was like this or if she was receiving special treatment, locked away in the only windowless room without any heat. In the end, it didn't really matter, she wrapped her lightweight jacket more tightly around her waist and turned her thoughts to Will and Henry, hoping desperately that they were alright. She should have called off the operation at the first sign of trouble, should have known that they were being watched, but she'd wanted to push onward. They, of course, had agreed and wanted to do everything they could to save a scared abnormal before it lashed out and hurt anyone else.

It had been a trap.

Helen frowned, remembering the look on Will's face when the creature had stood up on it's hind legs and coated the boys in some sort of sticky yellow substance. They'd been momentarily stunned, especially after spending nearly six hours chasing the damn thing, but a blink of an eye later the creature had gone still and slumped over, leaving them surrounded by a handful of military men yelling at them in their native tongue. Logically, she knew that it was inevitable, that it was hard to avoid the occasional run-in with SCIU when they spent their days trying to clean up the messes that they left behind. But, she felt directly responsible this time, and now she didn't know if either of them had been hurt by that- _goo,_ for a lack of a better term, and it was killing her.

Covering a yawn with the back of her hand, she glared at the tiny mattress in the corner and reluctantly gave in, slowly easing herself down onto it. She laid stiffly on her side, tucking her arms into the small space between her knees and chest to try and conserve warmth and keep her body from shaking. It was better than nothing she supposed, they could have left her to suffer on the cold, cement floor.

Giving one last cursory glance around the room, she made sure that nothing was out of place before finally allowing her drooping eyes to flutter shut.

 

* * *

Helen didn't know exactly how long she slept, but the lights suddenly flickering out and the sound of an explosion nearby certainly did a good job of waking her.

Her blood ran cold, flashing back to memories of hiding in bunkers during the war, laying on piles of rags as she and James listened to a seemingly never ending number of bombs impact overhead. She'd been through a lot in almost three hundred years, lived a handful of lifetimes that she was never meant to see, and as much as she liked to put on a brave face and pretend that everything was alright she would have been lying if she said that it didn't affect her occasionally. 

Out in the hallway she heard gunfire and Helen scrambled forward as quickly as she could, hiding in the corner behind the door, ready to defend herself if the occasion arose. Her heartbeat was frantic, fingertips and toes tingling as warm blood pushed its way back into her limbs. The aches and pains that she'd fallen asleep with were still there, she could feel them lingering just under the surface, somewhat dulled now by an adrenaline high and a determination to survive whatever was going on out there.

Time passed slowly, punctuated only by the sound of weapons fire, yelling and death. What surprised her though, were the muffled voices and heavy boots shuffling closer to her door, followed by the scrape of metal and the sound of rhythmic tapping on a keyboard.

Helen clenched her fist. This was it. They'd finally come to snuff out their biggest problem- _her_.  
 __

Well, she wasn't going down without a fight.

Helen heard a quiet beep and then the click of the lock being released just before the door swung open and two men dressed entirely in black darted inside. The first one was large, but that didn't stop her punching him as hard as she could in the side of his jaw. He stumbled back just enough for the second one to lunge at her, which she instinctively dodged, grabbing the back of his tactical vest before kneeing him in the stomach.

“Helen, stop!”

She froze. She knew that voice.

“Charlotte?”

The brief moment that she stood there, frozen in disbelief, was just long enough for the two men that she'd assaulted to catch her off guard, pinning her arms behind her back. She thought about fighting them off, she hated being restrained, but the sight of young Charlotte Benoit rushing toward her with a relieved smile on her face made her think twice.

“Boys, it's alright. Let her go.”

The men grunted their distaste at the order, but did so without complaint, and Helen was free for only a few seconds before she found herself wrapped tightly in Charlotte's embrace. She sighed quietly, her eyes slipping shut as she sunk gratefully into the hug. It had been a long time since she'd been greeted with such enthusiasm and she was going to savor every last bit of it.

“Charlotte,” an older woman hissed from the doorway, her accent thick, a large semi-automatic weapon cradled in her arms like it belonged there, “we have to keep moving.”

Helen could feel the the tension ratchet a few notches higher in the slighter woman's frame, could hear the disappointed inhalation of breath against the slope of her neck, and couldn't stop herself from asking, “How did you know I was here?”

Charlotte pulled back, a small palm cupping her cheek. There was a tiny glimmer in her eye, like she had been fighting off tears all day, and Helen felt something break deep inside of her.

“It's a long story,” she whispered, her thumb gently caressing a blossoming bruise on Helen's cheek, “I had to do something, though.”

“Charlotte, let's go. Now!”

Helen winced, tempted to send a glare toward the impatient woman a few feet away, but she knew better than to anger the ones saving her. 

“Alright Jane, we're coming,” Charlotte reached behind her, plucking a small handgun out of her waistband as they were herded out into the hallway, “Here, you're a better shot than I am.”

Helen smirked, feeling almost normal again with cold steel beneath her palms, “Let's get out of here.”

 

* * *

Making their way out of the government installation hadn't been nearly as hard as Helen thought it would be. They'd been lost in the chaos, using the panic and abandoned check points to their advantage. What few men they did run across were either shot, all non-fatal blows as far as she could tell, or taken down quietly with brute force.

Helen had been impressed.

But now, leaning heavily into Charlotte's side after they'd been stuffed into the back of an awaiting van, she was a little reluctant to start asking more questions. She had never been a particularly superstitious woman, but she didn't want to jinx their escape. They weren't safe yet, not until they were off the road and hidden somewhere that SCIU couldn't find them.

“Are you alright, darling?” Charlotte whispered, “You're awfully quiet.”

“Just wondering how you managed to get yourself involved in my rescue,” Helen looked up at the younger woman from where her head had been nuzzled against Charlotte's shoulder, “I tried very hard to keep you away from all of this, to keep you safe.”

“And, you did,” she reassured, thin fingers smoothing back the fringe of bangs covering her eyes, “I chose this, Helen. You've protected me enough. I thought it was about time for me to return the favor.”

Helen felt the back of her throat tighten, surprised at the genuine care and tenderness radiating from Charlotte's gaze. The decision to keep in touch with her had been selfish on Helen's part. She knew that she should have said her goodbyes that day in Africa and never looked back, for both their sakes. In the end, she'd given her detailed instructions on how to go about contacting her without detection, and done so with a giddy grin on her face and wild butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. 

Now, only a few months later, they were careening down unfamiliar stretches of open road, branded as fugitives. And, despite the fact that she knew it was reckless and stupid, and absolutely greedy of her, she was almost relieved that Charlotte had been pulled back into her chaotic world.

“Thank you. You have no idea how grateful I am that you came for me.”

Charlotte softened, her thumb rubbing soothing circles against her temple, “Anything for you, Helen. You know that.”

Unable to speak she nodded, the last twenty four hours and her emotions, finally catching up to her. Not wanting to seem weaker than she already felt, at least in front of the people that Charlotte had enlisted to help break her out, she regrettably severed their gaze and leaned her forehead against the woman's jaw for a moment before sliding further down into the crook of her neck, willing herself to ignore the tears that wanted so desperately to fall upon her cheeks. Instead, she blindly reached for Charlotte's hand and threaded their fingers together, letting the sound of the tires against the road lull her toward an exhausted slumber.

The last thing she remembered feeling was the gentle press of lips against the crown of her head.

 

* * *

When she came to she was alarmed to find herself not in the back of that van like she'd expected, but laying in a soft, luxurious bed instead. She panicked for a moment, nauseous and confused, but soon relaxed when she heard Charlotte humming quietly to herself behind a cracked door across the room.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Helen took a moment to look at her surroundings as she composed herself. Her brow furrowed. Where was she? And, why did she have the uncanny feeling that she'd been there before? The furniture, the molding on the walls, the small stone fireplace and the olive green wingback chair in the corner. All of it looked so familiar.

Carefully, Helen sat up and peeled the blankets back, swinging her feet to the floor. She blushed when she realized that her torn and dirtied clothes had been stripped from her body and replaced with a pair of silk pajamas. Logically, she knew that someone, most likely one of the larger men, had carried her inside once they'd reached their destination and Charlotte had taken care of her wounds before tucking her into bed. That didn't mean she wasn't embarrassed by it though, she couldn't remember the last time that she'd slept so deeply that not even someone lifting her in their arms had woken her up. It was more than a little unsettling, especially under the circumstances. She was supposed to be on high alert, always cautious and never trusting. Apparently, her sleeping body had other ideas.

Sighing to herself, Helen winced at the unexpected sting of fresh sutures tugging at the underside of her forearm and took a deep breath before pushing herself off the edge of the mattress. The floor was freezing beneath her bare feet and she bit her bottom lip, just barely able to resist the urge to yelp at the sudden shock. Her knees trembled in protest, struggling to hold her weight as she slowly shuffled her way across the room, before pausing in front of the bathroom door. She could hear water running now that she was closer, and for a moment she contemplated turning around and crawling back into bed, but curiosity got the better of her. Slowly, she nudged the door open, just enough to see Charlotte's blurry reflection in the foggy mirror above the sink. She was dressed in nothing but a small pair of green, lacy knickers, the rest of her clothing piled on the floor as she prepared a bath.

Deciding to make her presence known, Helen pushed the door open a few more inches and slipped inside, leaning against the tiled wall as she admired the view, “We have to stop meeting like this.”

“God, Helen. You scared the hell out of me,” Charlotte gasped, her eyes wide and she spun around, hand over her heart, “Did you sleep well?”

“I did,” Helen said, smiling softly when Charlotte didn't bother covering herself up, “How long was I out?”

“About fourteen hours. I was going to wake you for a late breakfast after I finished taking a bath.”

Charlotte turned, bending over to turn off the tap as the water neared the edge, and Helen took a moment to study her. She was still slender and toned, but her unruly curls had grown out a little since the last time she'd seen her, hanging just below her shoulders now. It made Helen long to run her fingers through them, to drag her nails across Charlotte's scalp and tug just hard enough to make her whimper as she kissed the long slope of her neck. To be honest, it made her want to do a lot of other things too. Naughty and dirty things, ones that she suspected would scar poor Will and Henry for life if they ever learned the details-

Oh, God. Will and Henry.

Helen's stomach dropped, heart caught in her throat. How could she have forgotten about them?

Once the water stopped flowing, Charlotte dried her hands on a nearby towel before pinning her with a mischievous gaze. It didn't last long though. Helen realized that something was wrong when the other woman's saucy grin disappeared in the blink of an eye, quickly replaced by a frown and a furrowed brow as she rushed toward her.

“Helen, what's wrong?”

“Henry and Will, do you know what happened to them? They were with me when we got captured, and then something hit me in the back of the head... I'm afraid I don't remember much after that, they could be anywhere.” 

She felt gentle hands rest on her biceps, rubbing up and down, but the guilt was almost suffocating her.

“They're fine. Last I checked they were resting comfortably in the infirmary. The SCIU doctors had no idea how to treat their burns. I'm pretty sure that Will called them ' _blithering idiots'_ at one point.”

Helen let out a sigh of relief, her lashes flutter shut for a moment as she silently thanked whom or whatever was watching over them. They were safe.

“Wait,” she paused, her eyes blinking open in confusion, “the infirmary? Where are we exactly?”

Charlotte grinned, her head titling to the side a fraction of an inch, looking at her as if she should already know where she was, “We're in one of your Sanctuaries, eastern France.”

For a moment, Helen wasn't quite sure what to think, but slowly it began to make sense. The chair, the fireplace, the linens. Everything.

“Ah, that certainly explains it then.”

“I thought you might feel safer if you woke up in a room that you'd stayed in before,” Charlotte slid her hands up over her shoulders and around her neck, fiddling with her hair in the endearing way that Helen had come to love during their short time together, “Was I wrong?”

Helen smiled softly, “No, not at all. I appreciate it. That was very thoughtful of you.”

Charlotte practically blossomed under the praise and Helen wrapped her arms around her waist, tugging her closer so that their bodies were pressed together from hip to chest.

“But, how did you know where I was?” she asked again curiously, her fingertips tingling as they brushed over the warm skin of Charlotte's lower back.

“Our mutual friend, Mister Feliz. He called to check up on me and seemed surprised that I had no idea you were here in France, and well...” a lopsided grin sweetly curved Charlotte's lips, “you know how he loves to meddle.”

“You asked him to keep you in the loop I take it?”

“Of course,” she nodded, “When nobody could find you I called the number that you gave me and somehow Declan managed to sweet talk the people here into letting me onto one of the search teams. I don't know how he did it, but I'm pretty sure I owe him a kickass Christmas present.”

“I'll have to give him a raise,” Helen chuckled, capturing Charlotte's lips in a tender kiss. 

Helen felt Charlotte moan softly against her. The fingers that had been lazily curled in her hair tightened, small hands cupping the back of her head as she returned the kiss. Helen sighed, melting into the contact. It would be so easy to get lost in her, to allow the undertow of emotions and the feeling of a warm body against hers drag her out to sea. It wouldn't be the first time that she'd let herself be comforted in such a way, and probably not the last.

“Mmm,” Charlotte hummed appreciatively, “as much as I would love to continue this, I can hear your stomach growling from here.”

Helen rested their foreheads together, one of her palms sliding up between Charlotte's shoulder blades, pleased when she felt goodbumps rise under her touch. She hadn't realized how hungry she was, but now that it had been mentioned she could feel her stomach rolling and grumbling angrily in protest.

“Why don't I go get us something to eat?” she suggested, “You can slip into the bath and relax until I get back.”

Food did sound awfully good.

“Will you join me?”

Charlotte smirked, “I might be persuaded...”

Laughing, Helen managed to peck her lips once more before the other woman pulled away, playfully winking at her as she tugged a long, cotton robe over her shoulders. 

“I'll be back soon,” Charlotte promised, and Helen felt her cheeks warm as the other woman's gaze slid suggestively down her body before slipping out the door.

Helen stood there for a few moments, shaking her head in amusement. Yes, she had talked to Richard two days before they left for Europe and mentioned stopping by Charlotte's flat while she was in the country, she'd even planned on taking a few days off after their mission ended, but she had never once allowed herself to imagine life would be like if she let someone in- let _her_   
__  
in. She'd never dared to dream what it might be like if Charlotte knew more about her past, if she were familiar with the network and the abnormals that she'd worked with all of her life, because if she didn't dream there was nothing to miss. But now? Now that seed of hope had been planted in her heart, she'd caught a glimpse of what it could be like, and she feared that it was never going to leave.

Helen found the corners of her lips curling into a tentative smile, her fingers nimbly slipping the first button on her pajama top loose.

That was something the she could live with.

 

* * *

True to her word, Charlotte had reappeared a short time later with tea, a tray of fruits, and an assortment of sandwiches. They lounged in the bath, her back to Charlotte's front, chatting and eating until nearly an hour had passed and the water had cooled. After drying off and redressing her bandage, Helen had tried persuading her younger companion into bed with her, to reacquaint themselves with each other's bodies, but the second that she set eyes on the overly fluffy comforter and felt the heat emanating from the fireplace on her bare skin, exhaustion had quickly set in.

“Sleep, darling,” Charlotte whispered, pressing a barely there kiss to her lips as she pulled the blankets up over her shoulders, “I'll be here when you wake up.”

 

 

Over the next ten hours, Helen woke only a few times. Images of Charlotte curled up in the chair near the fire, wearing nothing more than a men's button up shirt as she did the crossword puzzle in the morning paper, quickly blurred into feeling arms wrap around her waist as the bed dipped behind her, and then the pink hue of sunset painting the walls as soft lips peppered kisses across the back of her shoulder. 

She thought she'd been dreaming. 

But then she felt a small hand trail down her stomach, fingertips teasing over her hips, and everything suddenly came into focus. Helen gasped, long lashes fluttering against her cheeks as her thighs involuntarily spread the slightest bit, welcoming the exploration. Charlotte's throaty chuckle vibrated against the nape of her neck, sending a jolt of warmth through her body.

“I can hear you thinking.”

Helen grinned sleepily, her hips rolling toward Charlotte's wandering palm, already impatient for her touch, “Do you blame me? There _is_   
a beautiful woman in my bed, after all.”

Charlotte laughed again, teasing her only a moment longer before finally sliding through the searing heat between her thighs. They took things slowly, each savoring the shudders and moans that rolled through her body as she was brought to the brink of release over and over again. They could have been there for minutes or hours, the color on the walls now faded to a deep purple, she would never know for sure. But eventually, the muscles in her abdomen started to become fatigued, every one of her nerves set ablaze with anticipation, and the coil of pleasure deep within her was on the verge of snapping. 

“Please, Charlotte,” she begged with a whimper.

The woman behind her wormed a thigh between hers, nudging her legs even wider, and Helen's eyes slammed shut. A heaving breath caught in the back of her throat, Charlotte's new angle setting her blood aflame. Her touch began reaching new places inside of her, ones that, without a doubt, always reduced her into a trembling mess in a matter of seconds. She wanted desperately to ask for more- harder, faster, to roll them over, ride herself to completion in a tangle of limbs and a wild halo of hair around her damp shoulders- but that wasn't what this was about. She wasn't a fool, it was so much more than that. It was about reconnecting and comfort and showing each other how much they cared, not just a quick romp to get their rocks off. 

Charlotte's teeth nipped at her fluttering pulse, insistent hips pressing against her backside as Helen hovered just on the precipice of climax. Everything seemed to slow at once- the edges of her vision dimmed and each pant of Charlotte's breath against her skin more erotic than the last. She could feel her heart stutter in her chest, every one of her muscles locking up tightly and finally, just when she thought it would never come, the dam broke inside of her. 

An unadulterated moan of satisfaction tore itself from Helen's lips, gasping for air as her nails dug into Charlotte's hip and she rode out wave after wave of pleasure. Finally, she relaxed into the bed and the hazy fog clouding her brain slowly began to lift. Once she fully regained her bearings, she wasn't surprised to feel damp fingertips drawing random patterns over her stomach or the press of bare breasts against her back. They laid there in silence, the crackle of burning wood nearby the only other noise in the room. It was comfortable and exactly what Helen had needed, intimate without the normal pressure to reciprocate or vocalize how she was feeling.

Instead, when enough time had passed, Helen gathered just enough strength to roll over and take Charlotte in her arms. Mindful of her wounds, she leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, one that said thank you in a way that words would never be able to. Charlotte seemed to understand. She responded in kind, following her lead until the kiss naturally tapered off and Helen settled her head into the crook of Charlotte's neck.

“Are you hungry?” she asked, a hand rubbing up and down her back, “Someone from the kitchen dropped off food not too long ago. It's probably still warm.”

Helen shook her head, “Maybe in a little while. You're awfully comfortable.”

Charlotte chuckled, her chest vibrating beneath Helen's ear, “Alright, I'll indulge you for now, but if we end up having to go all the way down to the ktichens just to re-heat our food don't blame me. That one will be on you, Helen Magnus.”

“You're just cranky because you like it.”

“What, cold stew?” she teased.

Smirking, Helen nipped at her collarbone, “Cheeky, you know exactly to what I was referring.”

“Hmm,” Charlotte hummed softly to herself, as if she were truly contemplating it, “I don't know...”

Helen looked up at her, sending her the best glare that she could muster, the one that often sent presidents of foreign countries scrambling to meet her every demand, but in the end it was her that broke. She saw the laughter dancing in Charlotte's eyes, felt a traitorous smile tugging at her own lips, and couldn't have stopped herself from kissing her if she'd tried. 

The stew, and everything else, would have to wait.

 

* * *

Reluctantly, Helen returned to work the next morning. 

She'd woken up laying in front of the fireplace not long after dawn, nestled comfortably amongst a large pile of pillows and blankets with Charlotte wrapped securely in her arms. She'd longed to stay there all day and hated that there hadn't been time to indulge themselves any further than a shared shower and a quick kiss before rushing down to the daily briefing with the other heads of house. 

She had to get back to the real world, put the mask of authority back on and go through the day to day motions at some point, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

“Magnus? Are you alright?”

Helen blinked, “I'm sorry, what was that?”

Will set one of his bandaged hands on her arm, pinning her with his concerned gaze, “I asked if you were okay. Clearly, you're not though. Where's your head at?”

Despite herself, she looked sheepishly down at her lap. She'd been thinking about Charlotte and the few days that they had left together. Suddenly, she felt like a teenager again, getting caught by her father daydreaming about the cute boy who sold flowers on the corner down the street when she should have been studying. That was an experience that she'd promised herself to never relive, but she supposed that having it happen only once a century was better luck than most.

“Ah, you were thinking about _her_ , weren't you.”

Helen wasn't at all surprised to note that it hadn't been a question. Damn him and his attention to detail.

“Would it be horrible of me if I was?”

“Of course not,” Will laughed, patting her wrist lightly before passing her the file that had been open on the bed beside him, “Though I am a little insulted that I'm laying here,” he groaned dramatically, “ _in pain_ \- trying to talk to you about the acidic abnormal slime that put me in here, and the whole time you had your head in the gutter?”

She rolled her eyes, not willing to admit that she was a bit ruffled by his teasing, “Are you quite finished?”

“I think it's great, Magnus.”

Her brow furrowed, “Really?”

“It's nice to see you preoccupied with something other than the job for a change,” he admitted, a sincere smile on his face, “You look happy.”

Her chest tightened, that same butterfly feeling that she'd had in the pit of her stomach back in Africa, was beginning to surface again, “I think I am.”

“Why don't you send her down here after lunch?” he suggested, “Henry and I will give her a proper Sanctuary welcome while you take care of business.”

Helen eyed him wearily, the awkward, newfound feeling of happiness still settling heavily upon her. It felt good. Odd, but definitely good. It had been so long since she had anything to look forward to- the idea of someone to look after, to rely on, to just be there for her at the end of the day- and she wasn't quite sure what to do with that revelation. Hell, she wasn't sure if she could even have that, there were too many things still up in the air.

“Come on, Magnus,” he chuckled, nudging her out of her train of thought, “it's not like we can do much harm. We won't even be healed enough to travel for a few more days, so the tour will probably be cut short anyway.”

She sighed, straightening her skirt as she stood from the chair at his bedside, “Fine, but please, do take it easy on her. I haven't told her much about what we do here.”

Will's eyes softened, “Don't worry, we won't surprise her with a trip to the SHU.”

Helen nodded gratefully, squeezing his shoulder before heading off toward the guest quarters. She'd have just enough time to tell Charlotte of their plan and eat a quick meal before the next scheduled satellite conference. 

It was going to be a long day.

 

* * *

It was nearly ten o'clock that evening before Charlotte finally wandered back to their room and fell on top of the bed next to her. 

“Helen, this place is absolutely amazing!”

She smiled warmly, kissing Charlotte in greeting before setting the file that she'd been reading on the bedside table, happy to see that everything had gone well, “The boys didn't scare you off then, I take it?”

“Of course not, they were very sweet. I kind of feel like I've fallen into a fairytale, you know?”

Helen nodded, she'd felt the same way when her father first introduced her to this world as well, “It will take some getting used to I'm afraid. It's a lot to take in at once.”

“Well, you're not getting rid of me now,” Charlotte smirked, rolling over onto her side, resting her head in her hand, “There's no way in hell I'm going back to studying lemurs after seeing what you keep in your houses.”

She wanted to laugh at that, to bask in her enthusiasm, but she couldn't. Not yet.

“Do you mean that?”

Charlotte's brow furrowed, “Which part?”

Helen took a deep breath, her stomach in knots, “You really want to stay?”

She watched as Charlotte's eyes widened, her mouth dropping open the slightest bit, and for a fraction of a second Helen thought that she'd misunderstood. 

“Is that an invitation?”

“That depends,” Helen smirked shyly, finally able to breath again, “Would you say yes if it were?”

Charlotte grinned and slid a palm around the back of her head, pulling her forward for a spectacularly passionate kiss, one made Helen's toes curl and her entire body warm.

“I'll take that as a yes, then?” she gasped, more than a little dazed by the kiss.

“That's an _emphatic_ yes,” Charlotte giggled against her lips.

Helen's mind began racing. They had so much to talk about, to figure out. She hadn't anticipated this- hadn't anticipated Charlotte. Over a century of planning, of completely focusing on nothing but the Sanctuary and severing ties with the world's governments, unable to abide by their treatment of the abnormals from Hollow Earth, and she had never seen her coming. Already, in her head, Helen was compensating for such a pleasant distraction. It would take some work, but she imagined it would be well worth it in the end.

“Helen?”

Shivering at the sudden slide of fingertips dancing under the waist of her robe, Helen's back arched and she whimpered as soft lips trailed their way down her neck, “Yes?”

“Stop thinking so much.”

Helen tunneled her fingers through Charlotte's hair, a throaty chuckle escaping her as she tugged her back up and brought their mouths together once more. 

Planning could wait until tomorrow.

 **  
End.   
**

**Author's Note:**

> Geonn, I really hope that you liked your gift. I loved writing it, even if I was about ready to strangle something toward the end, lol. Happy Christmahanukwanzaakah!


End file.
